This invention relates broadly to the field of carrying cases and protective covers for portable data processing devices, communications devices, or the like. More specifically, it relates to a soft, foldable, fabric cover for such devices, wherein the cover, when removed from the device, can be folded to form a holder or easel for one or more sheets of paper that the user of the device may wish to have available for convenient reference while using the device.
Along with the recent growth in the use of portable personal computers, particularly the so-called "lap-top", "notebook", and "sub-notebook" computers, there has been a corresponding growth in the demand for carrying cases and the like for protecting these computers while they are being transported or carried. For example, the typical carrying case may be more or less in the form of a conventional briefcase, with rigid sides, or it may be in the form of a soft-sided zippered bag, similar to a typical travel bag for clothes and personal accessories and the like. In either form, the carrying case differs from a conventional briefcase or carrying bag chiefly by being dimensioned to hold a personal computer that is within a relatively narrow range of physical dimensions, sometimes even being limited to holding a specific make and model of computer.
From the foregoing, it can be seen that one drawback with computer carrying cases that are currently available is that they are not readily adaptable to carrying different types or amounts of equipment. This may be a disadvantage to a user who may wish to carry, at different times, either different types of computers, or different amounts and types of computer accessories, or even other types of equipment altogether (such as, for example, portable telecopiers, typewriters, printers, etc.) Such a user may have to acquire several different carrying cases to suit such varying needs. Alternatively, the user may be presented with the unpleasant choice between a relatively large case, which can accommodate a wide variety of equipment, but which cannot fit inside a larger suitcase or the like (and thus always must be separately carried, even if only partially full); and a relatively small case, which may fit inside a larger suitcase, but which may lack sufficient capacity on some occasions.
Another problem encountered by people who use portable devices such as those described above is that frequently the device must be used in an area in which it may be difficult to set up and hold papers and documents to which the user must refer while operating the device. This may lead to awkward working positions and resultant discomfort for the user. Accordingly, it would be advantageous to provide a carrying case that also includes means for supporting and holding papers and documents for easy viewing by the user.
A number of approaches toward solving this latter problem are suggested by the prior art. For example, the following U.S. Patents show a variety of carrying cases that include movable panels and the like that can be manipulated or rearranged to form an easel to hold and support sheets of paper: U.S. Pat. No. 3,107,448--Whitney; U.S. Pat. No. 3,136,082--Sloves; U.S. Pat. No. 4,213,520--Sarna et al.; and U.S. Pat. No. 4,893,711--Gustafson. The prior art devices exemplified by the aforementioned patents, however, typically suffer from one or more of the following disadvantages: They provide a case of more or less fixed dimensions that cannot easily be adjusted as to size; they are of a rigid or semi-rigid construction, so as not to be fully collapsible for convenient storage; they are relatively complex (and therefore expensive) to manufacture; and/or they are relatively inconvenient to use.
There has been, therefore, a long-felt, but as yet unsatisfied, need for a protective carrying case that can be manipulated or rearranged to form an easel, and that is also size-adjustable, fully collapsible, inexpensive to manufacture, and easy to use.